Sam Reynolds Follow @ thesamreynolds on Twitter Nikhilesh De Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether. Follow @ nikhileshde on Twitter Major digital assets plunged as the business day began in Hong Kong on Friday. Bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) both dropped more than 5% as customers fled crypto bank Silvergate , whose stock tumbled 58% during U. S. trading Thursday. Most of the other 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap saw declines similar to BTC and ETH's. "Institutions are a bit jumpy as Silvergate seems to be having issues," Nick Ruck of ContentFi, a Web3 venture studio, said in a note to CoinDesk. Ruck also pointed to the release of some of Mt. Gox’s bitcoin, which would increase its circulating supply, as another source of volatility. Read More: Was Silvergate on Borrowed Time as Regulators Backed Banks Away From Crypto? The rapid sell-off took a toll on major crypto exchange Coinbase, which began experiencing connectivity issues at 10:20 a. m. Hong Kong time. Other major crypto exchanges, including Binance, Bitfinex, Kucoin, OKX and Kraken, did not report similar issues. Bitcoin’s price fell to an intraday low of $22,020 as Asia trading hours began, after remaining roughly steady at $23,500 for most of the past day. It appeared to rebound slightly, recovering to just under $22,400 following its plunge. Ether saw a similar pattern, falling to $1,550 after spending the past day hovering around $1,650 with limited change. Bitcoin’s market cap declined by over $20 billion to $431. 9 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. Crypto's overall market cap is at $1. 07 trillion. Open interest in bitcoin futures was down 8. 8% in the last four hours, according to Coinglass . Open interest for ether was down 5%. UPDATE (March 3, 2023, 02:45 UTC): Adds additional detail. DISCLOSURE Please note that our privacy policy , terms of use , cookies , and do not sell my personal information has been updated . The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies . CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group , which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups . As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights , which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG . Sam Reynolds Follow @ thesamreynolds on Twitter Nikhilesh De Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether. Follow @ nikhileshde on Twitter Learn more about Consensus 2023 , CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus. coindesk. com to register and buy your pass now. Sam Reynolds Follow @ thesamreynolds on Twitter Nikhilesh De Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether. Follow @ nikhileshde on Twitter.